(MISA/IFEX) – MISA has confirmed that Geoffrey Nyarota, editor-in-chief of “The Daily News”, and the former chief executive of Associated Newspapers of Zimbabwe (Private) Limited (ANZ), that publishes “The Daily News”, Wilf Mbanga, have been released from police custody on bail of Z$10,000 each (approximately US$182 at the official rate). MISA’s chapter in Zimbabwe (MISA-Zimbabwe) […]
(MISA/IFEX) – MISA has confirmed that Geoffrey Nyarota, editor-in-chief of “The Daily News”, and the former chief executive of Associated Newspapers of Zimbabwe (Private) Limited (ANZ), that publishes “The Daily News”, Wilf Mbanga, have been released from police custody on bail of Z$10,000 each (approximately US$182 at the official rate).
MISA’s chapter in Zimbabwe (MISA-Zimbabwe) reported that Nyarota and Mbanga are required to visit the Criminal Investigations Department (C.I.D.) every Tuesday, surrender their travel documents by 28 November 2001, not interfere with state witnesses and also stay at the addresses they gave to the court.
According to reports from Harare, both Nyarota and Mbanga are in good health, despite a night spent in a police cell with ten other prisoners and no water or blankets.
In granting bail, Magistrate Winston Nyamwanza said that he would make a ruling on the matter on 16 November. In his submissions to the court, Advocate Eric Matinenga said that the police had unnecessarily arrested his clients when no proper investigations or charges had been laid down. He said that no arrest warrant was issued, but the two were still arrested.
Matinenga said that a technical error was made by accounting and corporate advisor firm PriceWaterhouse Coopers. He noted that the accounting firm has accepted liability for confusing Motley Investments Private Limited with Motley Trading. He said that Motley Trading is the shelf company that Nyarota and Mbanga created in order to facilitate the formation of the ANZ group.
The Zimbabwe Investment Centre argues that Nyarota and Mbanga breached section 40 of the Z.I.C. Act by lying that Motley Investments Private Limited was in existence, when it should have been Motley Trading Company. Matinenga argued that on that basis there is no reason why his clients had to be arrested and, even worse, detained for two days. “A police officer must entertain a reasonable suspicion that an offence was committed ⦠by simply asking for this information the police could have ascertained that no offence was committed. The letter from the accountants explains the circumstances relating to the clerical error whereby Motley Trading was described as Motley Investments Private Limited,” said Matinenga. “The application for the investment certificate was accompanied by the memorandum and articles of understanding which had the correct information and Z.I.C. could have easily perused their papers to ascertain the truth,” said Matinenga. “What the police did was to effect arrest in order to investigate. The investment document, which had all the information, is a public document which the police could easily have accessed without arresting my clients and, by simply asking the two, information could have been made available,” said Matinenga.
Matinenga argued that no one was prejudiced by the mistake in the names and that neither was there an intention on the part of his clients to lie. Matinenga said that the conduct of the police deserves a censure, as this is a clear case of harassment and prejudice. In reference to the allegation that Nyarota and Mbanga had said that they would only publish weeklies and were now publishing a daily, Matinenga read the application, one section of which states that the company intends to expand and establish more newspapers. “What then is the misrepresentation here,” asked Matinenga.
Responding to the state’s argument that the two accused had prejudiced the state because no investment came from the foreign partner, Matinenga said that the bank transactions were available for inspection by the police. He also said that the printing press that was bombed in January was bought by the foreign investor and the information was available for inspection. Matinenga asked what investigations the police carried out if they did not ask those basic questions.
Matinenga also argued that breaking section 40 of the Z.I.C. Act calls for a maximum Z$2,000 (approx. US$36 at the official rate) fine, yet Nyarota and Mbanga were arrested and detained for two days.
The state, represented by Public Prosecutor Innocent Shavi, argued that the two had prejudiced the investment because no foreign investment had been made in Zimbabwe. Shavi also said that the letter from the accountants only surfaced when the police arrested the two individuals in question. He questioned why the correction had not been made earlier. Shavi said that Nyarota and Mbanga had misrepresented information to other investors such as Diamond Insurance, hence prejudicing them. Capital was provided for the ANZ in Zimbabwe without any foreign participation, according to Shavi. Shavi said that the confusion over the names was a clear case of Nyarota and Mbanga trying to circumvent the law.
Matinenga asked that Nyarota be excused from visiting the police until 28 November, as he will be travelling to the United States. Nyarota is among four international journalists who will be honoured, on 20 November, with one of the International Press Freedom Awards presented annually in New York by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).
